EEA has five Arctic member countries and therefore has a responsibility to ensure that there is a good understanding amongst Europeans of the environmental changes occurring in the Arctic, their underlying causes and the policy changes needed to address them. EEA is relying on data and information from member countries, agencies, the scientific community and international partners in order to outline the state, trends and challenges in the Arctic. This process and how better to link scientific recommendations with the policy-making process will be described in a European and global context.

In 2010 Inuit from the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia gathered in Nuuk to the general assembly of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and made a declaration, stating that the general assembly "Mandate ICC to address the growing opportunity for Inuit to meaningfully engage in Arctic science and research, and at the same time play a role in promoting ethical and responsible research practices that stress the importance of bringing knowledge back to Inuit communities". Why are these issues important for Inuit ? What is knowledge in different contexts, and what is the purpose and use of it ? What can the scientific and Inuit communities benefit from each other ? What is the role of Inuit, and how are the Inuit going to carry their engagement out in reality ? Why even apply an Inuit dimension to Arctic research ? Questions like these will be discussed during this presentation. There will also be a short overview of what Inuit Circumpolar is, and what we do.

GDF SUEZ is committed to take up today’s major energy and environmental challenges, namely meeting energy needs, ensuring the security of supply, fighting against climate change and maximizing the use of resources. This commitment is supported by an extensive research and innovation effort, which deals in particular with renewable energies (solar, wind, biomass and biogas, and hydro). This interest in renewable energy has not prevented GDF SUEZ from entering in December 2010 in two exploration gas and oil licences with the Government of Greenland. The consortium in charge of these licences will duly focus on the environmental and safety aspects thereof. The presentation will provide general insights into the GDF SUEZ research program, with particular reference to the components dealing with renewable energy. The presentation will also focus on the peculiarities of hydro electric development, and on its latest trends in the several regions of the world. It will make reference, because of its localization in the near-by Iceland, to the Karahnjukar Project, a 690 MW hydro power plant completed in 2008. Tractebel Engineering (France)/Coyne et Bellier, a member of the GDF Suez Group, participated in the Karahnjukar construction supervision.

The life of the Greenlanders, living on the coastal areas, has been and will be strongly affected by climate variability. Coastal ocean and sea ice changes are well known to have strong impacts on marine transportation and marine productivity (and therefore fishing resources). Modern South Greenland agricultural activities (mostly sheep farming, hay production) are heavily dependent on local climatic conditions. The “Green Greenland” research brings together archeologists, historians, environmental psychologists, with experts in quantitative terrestrial climate reconstructions, climate modeling, detection and attribution of climate change, atmospheric monitoring, vegetation productivity monitoring and modeling, with the common goal to document the Greenlanders’ perception of climate change and the local impacts of climate variability and climate change. Specific efforts will be dedicated to document the perception and representations of climate change amongst Greenland farmers and its repercussion on their close environment and on their professional practices. We will elaborate an inventory of the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the farmers (and other local actors linked to their activities in the local rural development) linked to climate change, which can have an impact on their behaviors and decision-making processes in their choice of practices linked to their work. A guide for interviews will be constructed following the model of previous research done by the authors on similar topics (representation of the environment by French farmers).We aim to provide firm basis for documenting and understanding (1) Greenlanders perception of climate change, centered on south Greenland farmers, (2) the drivers of changes in atmospheric circulation, terrestrial Greenland climate, glacier extent, and vegetation productivity.

Sila project aims to document atmosphere and climate knowledge in Greenland : terminology in Kalaallisut and Tunumiisut, myths and folk tales, forecasting, weather events reported in Greenlandic medias, in a context of a changing environment. Sila is part of a main project called “Avativut : our environment” conducted by the Social Sciences Team of the Research Group “Mutations polaires” from CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research). The project “Avativut” aims to document Inuit, Saami and Siberian knowledge about their environment. Sila project is conducted by Pierre Taverniers, French meteorologist with training in Inuit languages, member or the Research Group “Mutations polaires” with the collaboration of Axel Jeremiassen, Ph.d. scholar at Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland). The Inuksuk Association, promoting Inuit culture in France, member of the Research Group “Mutations polaires” will organize exhibits, publications, cultural events relating to the Sila project.